Sandra Bland reportedly told her jailers she had previously attempted suicide

(Image credit: Pat Sullivan/AP Photo)

published 22 July 2015

Authorities at a closed Tuesday meeting with elected officials and law enforcement said that Sandra Bland had previously attempted suicide. The Houston Chronicle reports that Bland, the 28-year-old black woman who was found dead in her jail cell in Waller County, Texas three days after being arrested during a routine traffic stop, disclosed on a form at the jail that she had attempted suicide in the last year in relation to losing a baby. However, she noted that she was not feeling suicidal at the time of her arrest.

Bland's death was ruled a suicide by the coroner, but her family has contested that explanation.